Media application backgrounding

ABSTRACT

A media application is disclosed. The media application provides a playback of a media item that includes a video portion and an audio portion. The media application stops the playback of the video portion of the media item while continuing to provide the audio portion of the media item. The media application resumes the playback of the video portion of the media item in synchronization with the audio portion being provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/228,199, filed Mar. 27, 2014, and entitled “Media ApplicationBackgrounding,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/933,296, filed Jan. 29, 2014, the entirety of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Implementations of the present disclosure relate to content delivery,and more specifically, to media playback on a device.

BACKGROUND

The Internet allows people to obtain information, connect with othersand share information with each other. Common Internet destinationsinclude news websites, content sharing platforms, social networkingwebsites, and the like. Many websites and platforms include a contentsharing aspect that allows users to view, upload, and share media items,such as video content, image content, audio content, and so on. Userscan consume the media items from their user devices.

SUMMARY

The following is a simplified summary of the disclosure in order toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of the disclosure, nordelineate any scope of the particular implementations of the disclosureor any scope of the claims. Its sole purpose is to present some conceptsof the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

In one aspect, a method includes providing, by an application executedby a processing device, a playback of a media item that includes a videoportion and an audio portion. The method further includes receiving, bythe application, a first message during the playback of the media item.The method further includes in response to the first message, stoppingthe playback of the video portion of the media item while continuing toprovide the audio portion of the media item. The method further includesreceiving, by the application, a second message while providing theaudio portion of the media item. The method further includes in responseto the second message, resuming the playback of the video portion of themedia item in synchronization with the audio portion being provided.

Implementations can include any, all, or none of the following features.The method can include providing the playback of the media item,receiving a request to playback the media item, and reserving one ormore resources associated with the playback of the media item inresponse to the request. The method can further include stopping theplayback of the video portion of the media item and releasing at leastone of the one or more resources. The one or more resources can includeat least one of: a memory, a video decoder, or a video player. Releasingat least one of the one or more resources can include at least one of:clearing video data from a buffer, stopping a download of the videoportion, or closing a network connection used for requesting the videoportion. Resuming the presentation of the video portion of the mediaitem can include reacquiring the released one or more resources. Thefirst message can be at least one of: an indication that the applicationcan have entered a background state on a mobile device, an indicationthat a display of the mobile device can be powered off, or an indicationthat a second application can have entered a foreground state on themobile device. The second message can be an indication that theapplication can have entered a foreground state on the mobile device.The presentation of the video portion of the media item can be resumedwithout interrupting the presentation of the audio portion. The videoportion can be initially presented at a first quality and whereinresuming the presentation of the video portion of the media item caninclude presenting the video portion at a second quality. The method caninclude presenting, via a graphical user interface, a message that thepresentation of the video portion is to resume. The method can includereceiving the video portion and the audio portion from differentsources. The method can include receiving the video portion and theaudio portion of the media item as a single file. The method can furtherinclude separating the video portion and the audio portion into separatefiles.

In additional implementations, computing devices for performing theoperations of the above described implementations are also disclosed.Additionally, in implementations of the disclosure, a computer readablestorage media stores methods for performing the operations of the abovedescribed implementations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system architecture, in accordance withone implementation of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for providing efficientmedia application backgrounding on a client device, according to someimplementations of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates two example timelines for providing efficient mediaapplication backgrounding on a client device, according to someimplementations of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer system,according to some implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein is a mechanism for improving media consumption on aclient device. Conventional client devices can stream media items fromcontent sharing platforms. A media application on the client device canplay the streamed media items on the client device using a media player.A user may desire to operate another feature or other application on theclient device such that the audio portion of the video continues to playwhile the video portion is no longer displayed on the client device. Forexample, the user may wish to use other applications or turn the clientdevice screen off while the audio portion continues to play. In turn,the user can minimize, close or otherwise cause the media application toenter a background state. A background state can refer to a state, inwhich an application continues to run while no longer being visible andan application in the background state can refer to a “backgrounded”application.

Conventional client devices typically do not permit dynamically andindependently adding and/or removing video and audio streams duringplayback of a media item. Although a conventional client device canbackground a media application that is playing a video, the mediaapplication usually continues to run and process audio and video data(e.g., download, decode, cache) in spite of the video not being visibleon-screen. When backgrounding a media application, conventional clientdevices typically also hold on to system resources, such as memory (forbuffering data), network sockets and video decoders. In addition, someconventional devices can receive media items in non-multiplexed formats,where synchronized video and audio portions of a video are deliveredseparately. During playback, the client device generally renders thesynchronized video and audio streams simultaneously. Conventionalsystems usually do not operate differently when the media application isbackgrounded, which may cause an unnecessary consumption of resources.Mobile devices typically have a limited number of resources, which meansthat conventional approaches can prevent another application from usingthe resources.

Implementations of the present disclosure address the above deficienciesof conventional systems by providing a mechanism for controllingindependent playback of a video portion of a media item and an audioportion of the media item. An application on a client device providesplayback of a media item that includes a video portion and an audioportion. At any time, the application can stop playback of the videoportion of the media item while continuing to provide the audio portion.Later, the application can resume playback of the video portion insynchronization with the audio portion that is being provided.

Techniques described herein can reduce the cost of operating anapplication in background mode. While the application is not presentingthe video portion, the application can stop downloading the videoportion, pause decoding any downloaded video data and clear anyassociated memory. By releasing these and other resources, network andbattery consumption of the client device can be reduced as a result.Users often do not desire to download video they do not intend to watch,as it uses data and bandwidth. Further, the audio portion can beseamlessly provided throughout the application transitioning fromforeground to background and back to foreground.

For brevity and simplicity, implementations herein are described withrespect to a media item that includes an audio portion and a videoportion. The media item can include any number of portions of any type.For example, portions of the media item can include audio, video,subtitle data, a stream of overlaid data, annotations, advertisements,comments, metadata, information about the content of the media item(e.g., actors, related movies, music tracks, facial recognition, and thelike). Any of the portions can be handled using the techniques describedherein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system architecture 100, in accordancewith one implementation of the disclosure, for independently providing aplayback of a media item that includes a video portion and an audioportion. The system architecture 100 includes any number of clientdevices 102, a network 104, a data store 106, and a content sharingplatform 110. In one implementation, network 104 may include a publicnetwork (e.g., the Internet), a private network (e.g., a local areanetwork (LAN) or wide area network (WAN)), a wired network (e.g.,Ethernet network), a wireless network (e.g., an 802.11 network or aWi-Fi network), a cellular network (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE)network), routers, hubs, switches, server computers, and/or acombination thereof.

In one implementation, the data store 106 may be a memory (e.g., randomaccess memory), a cache, a drive (e.g., a hard drive), a flash drive, adatabase system, a distributed database, a distributed storage, oranother type of component or device capable of storing data. The datastore 106 may also include multiple storage components (e.g., multipledrives or multiple databases) that may also span multiple computingdevices (e.g., multiple server computers). The data store 106 can storemedia items and portions of media items, such as audio portions andvideo portions. The data store 106 can include a video source 118 of avideo portion of a media item. Similarly, the data store 106 can includean audio source 120 of an audio portion of a media item. Inimplementations, the video source 118 and the audio source 120 arestored on the same data store 106. In another implementation, the videosource 118 and the audio source 120 are stored on different data stores.In implementations, the different data stores can be owned and/oroperated by one entity. Alternatively, or the different data stores canbe owned and/or operated by multiple separate entities For example, thevideo source 118 is owned and operated by a first entity and the audiosource 120 is owned and operated by a second entity. The client device102 can receive the separate video and audio streams from these twodifferent entities.

The client devices 102 may each include computing devices such aspersonal computers (PCs), laptops, mobile phones, smart phones, tabletcomputers, netbook computers etc. In some implementations, client device102 may also be referred to as a “user device.” Each client deviceincludes a media player 112. In one implementation, the media player 112may be an application or part of an application that allows users toview content, such as images, videos, web pages, documents, etc. Forexample, the media player 112 may be a web browser that can access,retrieve, present, and/or navigate content (e.g., web pages such asHyper Text Markup Language (HTML) pages, digital media items, etc.)served by a web server. The media player 112 may render, display, and/orpresent the content (e.g., a web page, a media viewer) to a user, suchas via a graphical user interface (GUI). The media player 112 may alsodisplay an embedded media player (e.g., a Flash® player or an HTML5player) that is embedded in a web page (e.g., a web page that mayprovide information about a product sold by an online merchant). Inanother example, the media player 112 may be a standalone applicationthat allows users to view digital media items (e.g., digital videos,digital images, electronic books, etc.).

The media player 112 may be provided to the client devices 102 by aserver (not shown) and/or the content sharing platform 110. For example,the media player 112 may be an embedded media player that is embedded ina web page provided by the content sharing platform 110. In anotherexample, the media player 112 may be an application that is downloadedfrom the server.

In one implementation, the content sharing platform 110 may be one ormore computing devices (such as a rackmount server, a router computer, aserver computer, a personal computer, a mainframe computer, a laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, etc.), data stores(e.g., hard disks, memories, databases), networks, software components,and/or hardware components that may be used to provide a user withaccess to media items and/or provide the media items to the user. Forexample, the content sharing platform 110 may allow a user to consumer,upload, search for, approve of (“like”), dislike, and/or comment onmedia items. The content sharing platform 110 may also include a website(e.g., a webpage) that may be used to provide a user with access to themedia items. Content sharing platform 110 may include any type ofcontent delivery network providing access to content and/or media itemsand can include a social network, a news outlet, a media aggregator, andthe like. The content sharing platform 110 can use the media item datastore 106 to provide a media item to the client device 102. The contentsharing platform 110 causes the client device 102 to receive media itemsfrom one or more data stores, such as from media item data store 106. Inimplementations, the content sharing platform 110 includes the mediaitem data store 106. In other implementations, the media item data store106 is not part of the content sharing platform 110. The content sharingplatform 110 can be communicably coupled to the media item data store106. When handling a user request for a media item, the content sharingplatform 110 can interact with the media item data store 106 to providethe requested media item to the client device 102.

The content sharing platform 110 can present or provide a list ofavailable media items to a client device 102. Examples of a media itemcan include, and are not limited to, digital video, digital movies,digital photos, photo albums, digital music, website content, socialmedia updates, video-on-demand, live-streamed media, electronic books(ebooks), electronic magazines, digital newspapers, digital audio books,electronic journals, web log (blog) entries, real simple syndication(RSS) feeds, electronic comic books, software applications,advertisements, etc. In some implementations, media item is alsoreferred to as a content item.

A media item may be consumed via the Internet and/or via a clientapplication, such as the media player 112 of client device 102. Forbrevity and simplicity, an online video (also herein referred to as avideo) is used as an example of a media item throughout this document.As used herein, “media,” media item,” “online media item,” “digitalmedia,” “digital media item,” “content,” and “content item” can includeone or more electronic files that can be executed or loaded usingsoftware, firmware or hardware configured to present the digital mediaitem to an entity.

In implementations, the client device 102 includes a media item playbackmanager 114. The media item playback manager 114 controls playback of amedia item that includes two separate portions or streams. One of theportions can be an audio portion and the other can be a video portion.The client device 102 receives the video portion from the video source118 and the audio portion from the audio source 120. The video and audioportions can be delivered in any format and using any technology orprotocol, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), Dynamic Adaptive Streamingover HTTP (DASH), Adobe Dynamic Streaming for Flash®, Microsoft® SmoothStreaming, Octoshape Multi-BitRate, etc. The media item playback manager114 coordinates synchronized playback of the video and audio portions ofthe media item in the media player 112 and can reserve resources, asdescribed herein.

The media item playback manager 114 can receive an indication to alterplayback of the media item. The indication can be, for example, amessage (such as a preference or command) from an operating system 116.Alternatively, the media item playback manager 114 can receive theindication from any component of the client device 102 or from a user.The indication can be at least one of: an indication that the mediaplayer 112 is no longer a primary application, an indication that themedia player 112 has entered a background state on the client device102, an indication that a display of the client device 102 is poweredoff, an indication that a second application has entered a foregroundstate on the client device 102, that video associated with the mediaplayer 112 has a lower priority, or a request received from a user viaan interface or button to background the media player 112. Theindication may be provided by the operating system 116 to the media itemplayback manager 114 to stop playback of the video portion of the mediaplayer. In response to the indication, the media item playback manager114 can stop the playback of the video portion of the media item withinthe media player 112 while continuing to provide the audio portion ofthe media item.

In implementations, the operating system 116 can track when anapplication presenting a media item (e.g., the media player 112) entersthe foreground state and when it enters the background state. The mediaitem playback manager 114 can receive a signal, indication or messagefrom the operating system 116 when the application (media player 112)has entered the background state.

Upon receiving the signal, the media item playback manager 114 canrelease any resources associated with downloading and playing a video.The media item playback manager 114 can start a process to clear a videobuffer and release video memory, a video decoder, close a networksocket, and the like. In some implementations, the media item playbackmanager 114 can hold some resources for some period of time. Holdingresources can be beneficial for performance reasons, such as when anapplication enters a background state and then quickly enters aforeground state. In another example, the media item playback manager114 can release a video decoder, but continue to download data such thatwhen the application enters the foreground state, the media player canbegin decoding the video portion for a quick resume. In someimplementations, the media item playback manager 114 can hold someresources and then release them after a period of time.

Subsequently, the media item playback manager 114 can receive a secondindication to alter playback of the media item while the media player112 is providing the audio portion of the media item. The secondindication can be to initiate or resume playback of the video portionduring playback of the audio portion (e.g., when the media player 112enters a foreground state). The second indication can be, for example, amessage (such as a preference or command) from an operating system 116that the media player 112 is now a primary application, an indicationthat the media player 112 has entered a foreground state on the clientdevice 102, an indication that a display of the client device 102 ispowered on, or that video associated with the media player 112 has ahigh display priority. In response to the second indication, the mediaitem playback manager 114 can instruct the media player 112 to resumethe playback of the video portion of the media item in synchronizationwith the audio portion that is being provided.

In implementations, the content sharing platform 110 provides an indexof the audio portion and the video portion that informs the clientdevice 102 how to synchronize the audio and video portions duringplayback. For example, the audio and video portions can be time-indexed.When the media player 112 begins playing the media item from thebeginning, the media player 112 plays back the audio and video portionsfrom time=0, as indicated by the index. When resuming the video portion,the media item playback manager 114 can identify where in time theplaying audio falls in relation to the index. The media item playbackmanager 114 can then instruct the media player 112 to resume the videoportion at a corresponding place in time. Also, when resuming the videoportion, the media item playback manager 114 can reacquire any releasedresources (e.g., video decoder, buffer (reallocate memory), open networksockets to download the video portion, etc.). While this is happening,the media player 112 continues to play the audio. Once the video portionis available and ready for playback, the media item playback manager 114can again identify where in time the playing audio falls in relation tothe index. By knowing the position of the audio, the media item playbackmanager 114 can instruct the media player 112 to resume playback of thevideo portion in synchronization with the playing audio portion.

In general, functions described in one implementation as being performedby the client device 102 can also be performed on the content sharingplatform 110 in other implementations if appropriate. Similarly,functions described in one implementation as being performed by thecontent sharing platform 110 can also be performed on the client devices102 in other implementations if appropriate. In addition, thefunctionality attributed to a particular component can be performed bydifferent or multiple components operating together. For example, themedia player 112 and the media item playback manager 114 can operatewithin a single application. The content sharing platform 110 can alsobe accessed as a service provided to other systems or devices throughappropriate application programming interfaces (APIs), and thus is notlimited to use in websites.

In some implementations, the media player 112 and the media itemplayback manager 114 are part of the same application. In animplementation, the media item playback manager 114 is part of theoperating system 116.

In further implementations, the media item playback manager 114 candownload a lower quality video when in a background state for fastresume and minimal network usage. The media item playback manager 114can request higher quality video which the media player 112 can playwhen received. In some implementations, when resuming the video portiondownload, the media item playback manager 114 can decrease the qualityof the audio portion to give more bandwidth to resume the video.

In implementations, the media item playback manager 114 can identifycurrent network conditions. When the media item playback manager 114determines that it cannot reliably receive the video portion, such asdue to the current network conditions, the media item playback manager114 can trigger an audio-only mode until the video portion can bereliably received. The media item playback manager 114 can prompt a uservia a GUI of the low video reliability. The user can elect to proceedwith audio only and the media item playback manager 114 can receive suchinput via the GUI and can proceed accordingly.

In some implementations, the audio portion and the video portion aredelivered via a single connection, stream or file. The media itemplayback manager 114 or the operating system 116 can inform the contentplatform 110 when the media player 112 enters the background state or tosend the audio portion and not the video portion. The content platform110 can stop the delivery of the video portion via the singleconnection. In some implementations, when the audio portion and thevideo portion are delivered as a single combined file, the file caninclude identifiers of the video and audio portions that the media itemplayback manager 114 can use to separate the two portions at the client.

In implementations, the media item can be associated with a live streamor live event (e.g., an online lecture or presentation, a video gamestream). For live streams and events, the media item can be packaged insegments, such as by time (e.g., five second packets) or by size (e.g.,one megabyte packets). Audio packets can have a different size than thevideo packets. For example, the audio packets can be five seconds inlength and the video packets can be ten seconds. The audio and videoportions of the media item can correspond to each other but can bepackaged separately. For example, a media item can be divided into 200sequenced packets. The audio and video portions can likewise be dividedinto sequenced 200 packets, with each packet corresponding to the samemoment in time (e.g., the 27^(th) packet of the video and audio portionscorrespond to the same moment in time). When stopping the video portion,the media item playback manager 114 can instruct the media player 112 tonot play the next sequenced packet. When resuming the video portion, themedia item playback manager 114 can identify which audio packet iscurrently playing and can instruct the media player 112 to start playingthe next video packet at the same time it starts to play the next audiopacket. In implementations, the media item playback manager 114 can alsorequest and/or the next video packet from the content sharing platform110.

In other implementations, a software developer or an end user canconfigure the media item playback manager 114. For example, a GUI can beprovided to allow an end user to view some or all of the functionalityof the media item playback manager 114 and modify it as needed. Inanother example, the content sharing platform 110 can provide an API toallow a software developer to configure the media item playback manager114.

In some implementations, information, such as metadata, that correspondsto the media item currently playing back in the media player 112 in thebackground may be shown in a media item information portion of a userinterface of the client device 102. For example, information about avideo, such as its title, view count, likes, etc. can be presented.Additional menu options related to the media item currently playing inthe background may also be presented, such as play, pause, stop, fastforward, rewind, social post, add comment, etc. In anotherimplementation, the information that corresponds to the media item maybe presented in a semi-transparent format (e.g., as a semi-transparentoverlay or layer) while the user is performing other activities on theclient device 102.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 200 for providingefficient media application backgrounding on a client device, accordingto some implementations of the disclosure. The method 200 may beperformed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g., circuitry,dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.), software (e.g.,instructions run on a processing device to perform hardware simulation),or a combination thereof.

For simplicity of explanation, the methods of this disclosure aredepicted and described as a series of acts. However, acts in accordancewith this disclosure can occur in various orders and/or concurrently,and with other acts not presented and described herein. Furthermore, notall illustrated acts may be required to implement the methods inaccordance with the disclosed subject matter. In addition, those skilledin the art will understand and appreciate that the methods couldalternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via astate diagram or events. Additionally, it should be appreciated that themethods disclosed in this specification are capable of being stored onan article of manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferringsuch methods to computing devices. The term “article of manufacture,” asused herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible fromany computer-readable device or storage media. In one implementation,method 200 may be performed by an application, such as the media player112 or the media item playback manager 114, or a combination thereof, asfurther described in conjunction with FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, method 200 begins at block 202 when processinglogic receives a request to playback a media item having a video portionand an audio portion. The request can be received as user input, such asvia a touch screen of a client device. At block 204, the processinglogic reserves one or more resources associated with the playback of themedia item in response to the request. The one or more resources can be,for example, a memory, a buffer, a video decoder, network socket, or avideo player. The processing logic receives the media item from one ormore sources.

At block 206, the processing logic presents the media item, which caninclude providing a playback of the media item via a display of theclient device. At block 208, the processing logic receives a firstmessage during the playback of the media item.

At block 210, in response to the first message, the processing logicstops the playback of the video portion of the media item whilecontinuing to provide the audio portion of the media item. At block 212,the processing logic releases at least one of the one or more resourcesassociated with the playback of the media item. For example, whenreleasing the at least one of the one or more resources, the processinglogic can include at least one of: clearing video data from a buffer,stopping a download of the video portion, or closing a networkconnection used for requesting the video portion.

At block 214, the processing logic receives a second message whileproviding the audio portion of the media item. In implementations, thesecond message is an indication that an application executed by theprocessing logic has entered a foreground state on the client device. Atblock 216, the processing logic reacquires the released resource(s). Atblock 218 and in response to the second message, the processing logicresumes the playback of the video portion of the media item insynchronization with the audio portion being provided. Inimplementations, the processing logic resumes presentation of the videoportion of the media item without interrupting the presentation of theaudio portion.

In implementations, the processing logic presents the video portioninitially at a first quality level or bitrate and when resuming thepresentation of the video portion of the media item, the processinglogic presents the video portion at a second quality level or bitrate.For example, the second quality can be higher than the first quality dueto improved network resources.

FIG. 3 illustrates two example timelines 302, 304 for providingefficient media application backgrounding on a client device, accordingto some implementations of the disclosure. Intervals and events are usedto illustrate activities. Length or dimensions of the intervals are notindicative of a particular time or duration, nor are they indicative ofany time or duration relative to each other. Any interval can be anyamount or duration of time.

In a first example, run 302, an application on a client device, such asthe client device 102 illustrated in conjunction with FIG. 1, plays bothan audio portion and a video portion of a media item during interval306. At event 308, the application receives a first message and, inresponse to the message, stops playback of the video portion whilecontinuing to playback the audio portion, as described herein. Duringinterval 310, the application releases video resources and by the end ofinterval 312, the video resources are released. At event 314, theapplication receives a second message. In response to the second messagereceived at event 314, the application acquires video resources duringinterval 316. Once the video resources are acquired, the application canresume playback of the video portion of the media item while continuingto playback the audio portion during interval 306.

In a second example, run 304, the application functions similarly to thefirst example, run 302. The second example further includes a joiningwindow 320 which is an allowable duration for the application to acquirevideo resources and to begin playing the video portion insynchronization with the audio portion. The duration of the joiningwindow 320 can be a predetermined amount of time (e.g., five seconds).Alternatively, the duration of the joining window 320 can be dynamic andcan depend on any variable pertaining to the media item. For example, aduration of the joining window 320 can be a remaining duration of anaudio data packet that is currently being played. During the joiningwindow 320, the client device can render a prompt to indicate to a userthat the video is loading, buffering, etc. For example, the prompt caninclude a thumbnail, a spinner, a message, and the like. The prompt canbe displayed until the video portion resumes. In implementations, theclient device can resume the video portion at a lower quality or bitratefor fast resume and can dynamically adjust the video quality or bitrate.If the video portion is not played or resumed within the joining window320, then the application can pause the audio (e.g., for duration ofinterval 322) until the video portion is ready for playback.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in theexample form of a computer system 400 within which a set ofinstructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, may be executed. In alternativeimplementations, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to othermachines in a LAN, an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. Themachine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine inclient-server network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, aserver, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a singlemachine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines that individually or jointly executea set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more ofthe methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 400 includes a processing device (processor)402, a main memory 404 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory,dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) orRambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory 406 (e.g., flash memory,static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a data storage device416, which communicate with each other via a bus 408.

Processor 402 represents one or more general-purpose processing devicessuch as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. Moreparticularly, the processor 402 may be a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing(RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor,or a processor implementing other instruction sets or processorsimplementing a combination of instruction sets. The processor 402 mayalso be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor,or the like. The processor 402 is configured to execute instructions 426for performing the operations and steps discussed herein.

The computer system 400 may further include a network interface device422. The computer system 400 also may include a video display unit 410(e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT), or atouch screen), an alphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard), acursor control device 414 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generationdevice 420 (e.g., a speaker).

The data storage device 416 may include a computer-readable storagemedium 424 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions 426(e.g., software) embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein. The instructions 426 may also reside,completely or at least partially, within the main memory 404 and/orwithin the processor 402 during execution thereof by the computer system400, the main memory 404 and the processor 402 also constitutingcomputer-readable storage media. The instructions 426 may further betransmitted or received over a network 418 via the network interfacedevice 422.

In one implementation, the instructions 426 include instructions for amedia player or a media item playback manager, which may correspond,respectively, to the media player 112 or the media item playback manager114 described with respect to FIG. 1, and/or a software librarycontaining methods that provide a media player or a media item playbackmanager. While the computer-readable storage medium 424 is shown in anexample implementation to be a single medium, the term“computer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a singlemedium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall also betaken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and thatcause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of thepresent disclosure. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shallaccordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-statememories, optical media, and magnetic media.

In the foregoing description, numerous details are set forth. It will beapparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure, that the present disclosure may be practicedwithout these specific details. In some instances, well-known structuresand devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, inorder to avoid obscuring the present disclosure.

Some portions of the detailed description have been presented in termsof algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitswithin a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desiredresult. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physicalquantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take theform of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “segmenting”, “analyzing”, “determining”, “enabling”,“identifying,” “modifying” or the like, refer to the actions andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (e.g.,electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

The disclosure also relates to an apparatus for performing theoperations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for therequired purposes, or it may include a general purpose computerselectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored inthe computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computerreadable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of diskincluding floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-opticaldisks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs,EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable forstoring electronic instructions.

The words “example” or “exemplary” are used herein to mean serving as anexample, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design describedherein as “example’ or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use ofthe words “example” or “exemplary” is intended to present concepts in aconcrete fashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intendedto mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unlessspecified otherwise, or clear from context, “X includes A or B” isintended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, ifX includes A; X includes B; or X includes both A and B, then “X includesA or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition,the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appendedclaims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unlessspecified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singularform. Moreover, use of the term “an implementation” or “oneimplementation” throughout is not intended to mean the sameimplementation unless described as such.

Reference throughout this specification to “one implementation” or “animplementation” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the implementation isincluded in at least one implementation. Thus, the appearances of thephrase “in one implementation” or “in an implementation” in variousplaces throughout this specification are not necessarily all referringto the same implementation. In addition, the term “or” is intended tomean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.”

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. Many other implementations will beapparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding theabove description. The scope of the disclosure should, therefore, bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: providing, by a firstapplication executed by a processing device in a computing device, aplayback of a media item received from a content platform, wherein themedia item comprises a video portion and an audio portion, and whereinthe playback of the video portion occurs on a display device of thecomputing device; in response to the first application entering abackground state during the playback of the media item, stopping theplayback of the video portion on the display device while continuing toprovide the playback of the audio portion while the first application isin the background state by sending a request to the content platform tocontinue sending the audio portion without sending the video portion;and in response to the first application entering a foreground stateduring the playback of the audio portion without the playback of thevideo portion, resuming the playback of the video portion, whereinresuming comprises coordinating synchronization of the playback of thevideo portion with the playback of the audio portion that continued tobe provided while the first application was in the background state. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein providing the playback of the media itemcomprises: receiving a request to start the playback of the media item;and reserving one or more resources associated with the playback of themedia item in response to receiving the request to start the playback,wherein stopping the playback of the video portion comprises releasingat least one resource from the resources, and wherein the resource isassociated with the playback of the video portion.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the resource comprises at least one of: a memory, abuffer, a video decoder, or a video player.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein releasing the resource comprises performing at least one of:clearing video data from a buffer or closing a network connection usedfor requesting the video portion.
 5. The method of claim 2, whereinresuming the playback of the video portion comprises reacquiring thereleased resource.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the playback of thevideo portion is resumed without interrupting the playback of the audioportion.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the playback of the videoportion is initially at a first quality and wherein resuming theplayback of the video portion is at a second quality.
 8. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising presenting, via a graphical user interface, amessage that the playback of the video portion is to resume.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising receiving the video portion and theaudio portion from different sources.
 10. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: receiving the video portion and the audio portion as asingle connection, stream, or file; and separating the video portion andthe audio portion into separate files.
 11. A computing devicecomprising: a display device; and a processing device configured to:provide, by a first application executed by the processing device in thecomputing device, a playback of a media item received from a contentplatform, wherein the media item comprises a video portion and an audioportion, and wherein the playback of the video portion occurs on thedisplay device of the computing device; in response to the firstapplication entering a background state during the playback of the mediaitem, stop the playback of the video portion on the display device whilecontinuing to provide the playback of the audio portion while the firstapplication is in the background state by sending a request to thecontent platform to continue sending the audio portion without sendingthe video portion; and in response to the first application entering aforeground state during the playback of the audio portion without theplayback of the video portion, resume the playback of the video portion,wherein, to resume the playback of the video portion, the processingdevice is to coordinate synchronization of the playback of the videoportion with the playback of the audio portion that continued to beprovided while the first application was in the background state. 12.The computing device of claim 11, wherein, to provide the playback ofthe media item, the processing device is to: receive a request to startthe playback of the media item; and reserve one or more resourcesassociated with the playback of the media item in response to receipt ofthe request to start the playback, wherein, to stop the playback of thevideo portion, the processing device is to release at least one resourcefrom the resources, and wherein the resource is associated with theplayback of the video portion.
 13. The computing device of claim 12,wherein the resource comprises at least one of: a memory, a buffer, avideo decoder, or a video player.
 14. The computing device of claim 12,wherein, to release the resource, the processing device is to perform atleast one of: clear video data from a buffer or close a networkconnection used for requesting the video portion.
 15. The computingdevice of claim 12, wherein, to resume the playback of the videoportion, the processing device is to reacquire the released resource.16. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions storedtherein that, when executed by a processing device in a computingdevice, cause the processing device to: provide, by a first applicationexecuted by the processing device in the computing device, a playback ofa media item received from a content platform over a network, whereinthe media item comprises a video portion and an audio portion, andwherein the playback of the video portion occurs on a display device ofthe computing device; identify a first condition of the network duringthe receipt of the video portion from the content platform; determiningthat the video portion cannot reliably be received from the contentplatform based on the condition of the network; in response to thedetermination that the video portion cannot reliably be received, stopthe playback of the video portion on the display device while continuingto provide the playback of the audio portion while determined that thevideo portion cannot reliably be received; and in response to adetermination that the video portion can reliably be received from thecontent platform, resume the playback of the video portion, wherein, toresume the playback of the video portion, the processing device is tocoordinate synchronization of the playback of the video portion with theplayback of the audio portion that continued to be provided whiledetermined that the video portion could not reliably be received. 17.The machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein, to provide theplayback of the media item, the processing device is to: receive arequest to start the playback of the media item; and reserve one or moreresources associated with the playback of the media item in response toreceipt of the request to start the playback, wherein, to stop theplayback of the video portion, the processing device is to release atleast one resource from the resources, and wherein the resource isassociated with the playback of the video portion.
 18. Themachine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the resource comprises atleast one of: a memory, a buffer, a video decoder, or a video player.19. The machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein, to release theresource, the processing device is to perform at least one of: clearvideo data from a buffer or close a network connection used forrequesting the video portion.
 20. The machine-readable medium of claim17, wherein, to resume the playback of the video portion, the processingdevice is to reacquire the released resource.